The Psalm of the Shepherd by Von Morgan

Table Rock Lake
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Things I Learned on the College Church Staff

I was privileged to be part of the CCN staff from the mid 70s through the early 80s. These are some of the things we learned under the leadership of Dr. Paul Cunningham. They have shaped my life and ministry for over 45 years.  What a privilege to have this kind of training early in my life. This is a sample, not an exhaustive list....you will get the picture.

When in doubt, do the generous thing.

It doesn’t matter what your title is, if something needs done, just do it.

We ride for the brand. In staff meetings, we will discuss, disagree, debate all we need to, but when we walk out the door, we are a team.  We have each other’s back. Period.

The church must know we work hard, and that we always show up for work, on time, every day. Even if you are up late at a church function…you show up the next morning, ON TIME.

We always participate in the District programs. That is our larger team. We NEVER act like we really don’t need them.

Be nice to people. It doesn’t cost any more to be nice.

Learn to laugh at yourself. Learn to take constructive criticism.  Learn to travel light (don’t carry offenses).

Always answer your calls, and learn to write “thank you” letters. Lots of them.

We have one standard.  EXCELLENCE

Our MO for almost everything we do:  “If it seems good to us and good to the Holy Spirit…we do it”

My Biscuit Myths and Methods

I have tried many recipes and methods for homemade buttermilk biscuits.  Most of them have just been OK….not anything special.  Today’s biscuits are the best of any I’ve made thus far (and Bonnie agreed with me…).  I have, at last count, 13 different recipes I’ve studied…used, partly used…all of that.  It comes down to just a few simple things that you must experiment with, because everyone is slightly different….even reading the same directions.

Myths & Methods (in my opinion)

oFrozen grated butter (its ok, but not necessary)

oFat: any of them will work OK  butter, Crisco or lard (I personally have liked lard the best)

oFlour:  self-rising, all-purpose, not sure it really matters (you just use more, or less powder and soda)

oKneading…not all that crucial as long as it is enough to get your dough stuck together

oRoll it or hand press it…..either works

oCutting your fat in…hands, pastry cutter, or crisscrossing knives…whatever you want is ok.  It doesn’t have to be that exact.

oPan: Any!  Cast iron is even heat.  Baking pan works fine. I like the biscuits touching in the pan. Lightly grease/butter (or spray) your pan (I forgot to grease my pan today….biscuits came our perfect and didn’t stick)  There is enough fat in them to work OK, but butter browns them very nicely.

oI like a 450 oven.  It works for me, in my climate and with my oven.  50 degrees either way may be the ticket for you. You’ll just have to try it.

oI like to baste the finished biscuits with melted butter (real butter) totally a preference

Today… I FORGOT to add the fat (lard) until after I had mixed the dough with the buttermilk….I thought Oh crap!  But I decided to do it anyway, and just made sure to get in throughout the dough in as small of chunks are I could….used two table knives for that.  It was amazingly great!  I would still do it BEFORE the wet ingredient because it’s easier. Kind of tells you most of what you hear doesn’t matter all that much.  So many videos act like they have the secret ingredient or method…NOT SO, almost invariably.

              

What REALLY matters

oThe wetness of the dough. It must be pretty wet with the buttermilk. 

oUse just enough extra flour so it doesn’t stick to your hands or surface or rolling pin (if you use one).

oRoughly, it is a cup of flour to a ½ cup of liquid, milk or buttermilk. (if in doubt, go wetter)

oI would ONLY use sweet milk if I were using self-rising flour.

o Use more baking powder and especially more baking soda than any of my recipes called for.  Here’s why: baking powder will activate with any liquid, whereas baking soda needs an acid to activate it. That is why buttermilk is needed if you are using all-purpose flour with baking soda added.  Here is what I am finding (and you may need to play with this, since weather, climate, etc. all affect the leaven).  Use apprx.1 level TBS of powder to 1 cup of all-purpose flour…AND…1/2 tsp baking soda to that cup of all-purpose flour.  If you are using self-rising flour, it won’t take that much, but I’d still add at least ¼ tsp of soda to a cup of flour…and be sure to use an acid (buttermilk, or sweet milk with a TBS of vinegar). 

oWork it on your flat, lightly floured surface just enough to fold it a time or two…or three or four (not that crucial). And then roll it or hand press it out to no thinner than 1inch.  IMPROTANT if you want taller, fluffy, not crumbly biscuits.  Too crumbly was my biggest hurdle…the wetter dough and thicker cut and more rising elements (powder and soda) were the biggest secrets.  That is why you have to kind of experiment.  HINT:  I experimented with 1 cup of flour…and the other ingredients. That will make about 3 or 4 biscuits cut 1 inch thick and about a 2 ½ cutter.  It just saves using more ingredients while you are getting it to work for you…in your oven…in your climate, etc.

So…this is what I’ve learned in lots of trials.  Wetter dough, more powder&soda (with acid if using all purpose flour), thicker cut, and with those things, many of the can’t miss recipes will work.